No films were shown at Woolton Picture House in 2022 and customers are still waiting to return to Liverpool's oldest cinema.
The cinema, which first opened in 1927, has not yet reopened after closing for the Covid-19 pandemic. After being saved from permanent closure by a crowd-funding campaign and government funding, plans to reopen have since been announced and altered.
Long periods of silence and changed plans have led to the reopening being termed a "saga" by local councillor Kris Brown. After the community in Woolton appealed for transparency from the owners, the cinema detailed its plans in an October Facebook post, with a target of Spring 2023 for reopening.
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Cllr Brown and his constituents will hope that this target is met and 2023 will actually be the year that customers return to the historic cinema. Here, we look at the various developments in 2022, as months went by with no updates before reopening plans were altered.
Nine months of silence
News of the picture house's survival in 2021 was followed by few updates from the owners. However, a post on the cinema's Facebook page in December of that year said: "it is our full intention that we will be re-opening our big, red doors during 2022".
The statement was met with relief but the cinema's intention did not materialise in 2022. In August 2022, when there had been no updates since December 2021, Woolton Councillor Kris Brown told the ECHO: "I’ve written about five public letters in the last year or so - since they closed during the pandemic. I’ve reached out - I want to help.
"The question of what’s happening with the Woolton Picture House fills up my inbox more than most of what goes on at the council. It’s clearly of interest to people and I want to know that something is happening, but it is down to the owners.
"The only thing that I’m aware of is that if you go past the cinema, you can see that they’ve painted the doors. It’s significant that something’s happened, so something is going on or it’s giving the impression that something is going on. But there has been no statement since December, there’s been no reply to us."
The cinema failed to respond to the ECHO's requests for comment or provide any further public updates until September 28, 2022, when a Facebook post stated its intention to reopen but did not provide a date. On October 4, a further statement confirmed it would not reopen in 2022 and set a target of Spring 2023.
It also detailed plans to turn the building on Mason Street into "a cultural venue", with a second, smaller cinema screen, a stage and a function suite. In the post from October 4, Woolton Picture House's owners also promised regular updates on the Facebook page, saying: "Moving forward on a monthly basis, we will update you on our journey". Despite that pledge, there have been no further updates since.
Saved by public money
Cllr Brown has frequently told the ECHO that he believes that the cinema acceptance of money from the government and a crowd-funding campaign increases the need for transparency about its plans.
During the pandemic, the picture house was awarded £37,809 from the government's Culture Recovery Fund. The fund was administered by the British Film Institute (BFI) on behalf of the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport (DCMS) and its aim was to support "culturally-significant organisations" that were at risk of failure due to the effects of coronavirus-enforced lockdowns.
In its October 4 statement, the cinema said it collected a total of £25,625 of the awarded funds, rather than the full £37,809. Added to the £24,000 raised by the crowd funder, this meant that close to £50,000 was provided to support the reopening.
In September, when the ECHO revealed that the government awarded funds to Woolton Picture House, the BFI said it had been assured the owners were committed to opening in 2022. Less than a month later, the cinema revealed on Facebook that it would not be able to.
Future plans and promised clarity
The community in Woolton welcomed October's news of reopening plans, which outlined a two-phase approach.
Phase one - which has the target of Spring 2023 - is focused on reopening the cinema's main screen, while the second phase will entail the transformation into "a cultural venue". Regarding the second phase, the owners said the development would allow the Mason Street building to: "have the ability to host a whole array of cultural events and celebrations as it moves forwards" and will "ensure it is there for generations to come".
Phase two will require planning permission, for which the cinema will look to apply in Spring 2023.
As mentioned above, the post also committed to monthly updates about the progress of reopening plans. Since that post on October 4, there has been no further public communication from the cinema's owners.
Those looking forward to returning to the cinema's retro red seats will hope this is not the beginning of another extended period of silence and the Spring 2023 target will be met.
Woolton Picture House was approached for comment for this article.
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